Dave Ball, one half of the pioneering 1980s electronic music duo Soft Cell, has passed away at the age of 66.
Together with singer Marc Almond, the duo scored a global success with their version of Gloria Jones' the classic track Tainted Love in the mid-80s, and their debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is considered a classic of electronic music.
He later founded the innovative electronic act The Grid, who achieved chart success with their 1994 single Swamp Thing.
Ball passed away calmly in his rest at his residence in London on October 22, just weeks after performing a headline show with Soft Cell at the Rewind music event in the Thames-side town.
Recent Health Challenges
During that show, Ball performed in a mobility chair, as he had for the previous couple of years, following a spate of health issues.
"I ended up damage myself significantly," he stated in 2023. "I fractured lower vertebrae in my spine and fractured about five ribs and fractured my arm."
Following contracting a lung infection and suffering from blood poisoning, he was put in an medically-induced sleep and stayed in the hospital for seven months.
However, he had been in "high spirits mentally" over the summer, as he was developing a new album with Almond, titled the upcoming Danceteria, which is scheduled for publication in the coming year.
"He was concentrated and so happy with the latest project that we actually finished only a short time ago," said the vocalist in a tribute.
"It's truly heartbreaking as next year was completely planned to be such an uplifting year for him, and I take some solace from the fact that he listened to the finished record and felt that it was a masterpiece."
Tributes
Almond referred to his bandmate as "an exceptionally talented musical genius", stating: "He was the heart and soul of Soft Cell and I'm extremely pleased of our legacy.
"Many thanks Dave for being an immense aspect of my existence and for the songs you gave me. I wouldn't be where I am without your influence."
His Grid bandmate from The Grid, also paid tribute, recalling Ball's "constant humor" and "unwavering friendship".
"Forming a duo with someone is different from being in a band, the connection is incredibly close," he added.
"That was the case with us. We went through so many extraordinary, incredible, life-affirming moments together. Thank you, Dave."
Early Life
Brought into the world into a one-parent family in Chester in the late 50s, Ball was given up for adoption when he was a year and a half old.
He was raised in the seaside town with adoptive parents Donald and Brenda Ball, who altered his given name from Paul to David, together with his younger sister Susan, who was similarly welcomed.
He encountered Almond at Leeds Polytechnic in 1977, where they were both learning fine arts. Inspired by a shared love of Northern Soul, they established Soft Cell the same year, and quickly produced an extended play.
Musical Partnership
The duo were an unusual combination: Ball was the reserved technician, bent over his synthesizer, while Almond was a charismatic performer, all glitter and makeup; but they attained a unique creative synergy.
Ball had cultivated a interest with electronic instruments after viewing the band Kraftwerk appear on a television science show Tomorrow's World, and started to combine moody electronic sounds to the catchy tunes Almond was composing.
Tainted Love became the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling single of the early 80s, shifting millions of copies worldwide. Together with hits by Gary Numan, Human League and Ultravox, it helped cleared the path for the synth-pop sound of the 80s.
The song was also featured on their full-length debut, their initial LP, which spawned two further high-charting hits: Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.
They continued the album up with the separate release, Torch, which reached at the second position in 1982.
Professional Journey
Success had its upsides. "I loved being able to afford my initial property, having financial security and travelling, which makes me sound like a Miss World," Ball recently shared with a publication.
But it also caused challenges. "Newfound wealth meant we could afford newfound drugs to relieve the monotony" of media interviews and TV performances, Ball explained.
"I know that's a common saying, but it's a cliché for a valid cause, because it works for so many bands."
During the hedonistic lifestyle, the pair were also growing distant, but they succeeded to produce a second classic album - the wayward, tense and fittingly named The Art Of Falling Apart.
They put out one more album, their 1984 release This Last Night In Sodom, before ending the group to focus on individual endeavors.
Almond went on to have a prosperous individual path, featuring the chart-topping single Something's Got A Hold Of My Heart; while Ball formed The Grid, who combined dance music with ambient pop over a enduring partnership.
Reunions and Final Projects
Soft Cell reunited in the early 2000s, releasing the Top 40 record Cruelty Without Beauty.
Following another hiatus, they returned in recent years, releasing the new tracks Northern Lights and Guilty (Cos I Say You Are) before staging what was supposed to be a farewell show at the O2 Arena on 30 September, that year.
Yet, they remained active, creating their fifth album, Happiness Not Included, during the pandemic restrictions.
Ball lately described the duo's upcoming release as a tribute to the New York club scene they frequented while recording their first two albums.
He added that his period in medical care had influenced the band's sound.
"I had unusual memories when I was in and out of the hospital because I was on morphine," he told a publication.
"The new songs are a electronic representation of the sounds in my mind from those days.
"In parallel, it's about the experiences we had in the 80s."
The final mixes were completed only days before Ball died. It is scheduled for launch in Spring 2026.
